


The Truth About Gintars

by explodingsnapple



Series: Cheers to the 99th Precinct! [7]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Episode: s06e10 Gintars, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 01:18:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18377990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/explodingsnapple/pseuds/explodingsnapple
Summary: Jake's a human being, and one time, he made a mistake. But that doesn't change the fact that it was wrong, and no matter how many times he apologizes, there are some things he just can't fix.(Post-6x10)





	The Truth About Gintars

Jake doesn’t notice anything amiss, which is unusual for him, especially given how _obvious_ everyone is being.

He doesn’t notice that Boyle’s subdued demeanor remains even after their conversation.

He doesn’t notice Rosa’s even-more-sullen expression, or the glare she shoots him as he leaves the precinct.

He doesn’t notice how Carla, the rookie who offered to teach him Spanish just two days ago, sees him approaching the door to the precinct and deliberately closes it behind her instead of holding it open for him.

He doesn’t notice as he elects to walk home instead of drive because it’s Friday, he has no other plans, and it’s such a beautiful day outside. He doesn’t notice that even making a choice like that is a privilege he wrongfully took away from someone else today.

 

* * *

 

It’s not until he passes by a restaurant he used to love, just two blocks from his old apartment, boarded-up because an ICE raid lead to the arrest of several waiters, that it hits him. Jake’s heart plummets to his feet.

He got a man deported for a nonviolent crime that, under other circumstances, he would just ignore. He got a man deported by abusing the powers that he had as a cop. He got a man deported, and now his best friend’s son will not get to know his birth-father.

He got a man deported for one reason and one reason only – his presence was an inconvenience to him. He did this. This was his fault.

Jake walks the rest of the way home in a daze, nauseous with guilt.

 

* * *

 

He’s relieved, at first, to see that his wife’s shoes aren’t in their place by their front door. She’s not home, which means he doesn’t have to face her.

The relief doesn’t last, however, because he eventually _will_ have to face her. Amy, a daughter of two Cuban immigrants. His beautiful, wonderful wife, the most hardworking woman he knows, who is every bit as American as he is. He’ll have to tell her what he did; he won’t be able to live with himself if he doesn’t (or if, god forbid, she finds out from someone else).

She comes home soon, but exhausted and irritated, which does nothing to lessen Jake’s nerves. He perches himself on the back of their couch, listening quietly as she bustles about the kitchen fuming about how someone she looked up to, someone whose work she trusted completely, turned out to be a fraud.

“Yee’s been claiming he’s some kind of– some kind of _genius_ who will revolutionize what it means to be a detective in the police force, and I _idolized_ him for it, and it’s all a god-” – Amy thumps a loaf of bread onto the kitchen counter – “-damn” – she violently opens the refrigerator door – “lie.” At this, Amy gets a jar of peanut butter from the fridge, slams it down, and looks up at him, eyes flashing in anger.

Jake wants to comfort her, to tell her that not everyone’s like that. He wants to say, “Yeah, he’s an asshole,” but that would be hypocritical. So he just stares ahead.

Amy notices and moves over to where he is, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Jake, what’s wrong?” she asks.

 

* * *

 

As Jake recounts the day’s events, Amy’s expression remains completely stoic, like she’s trying hard not to show her real thoughts. However, she won’t meet his eyes, and her fists are now balled at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. She doesn’t say anything when he finishes, but stands there silently, her lips pinched in a thin line.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, she marches into their bedroom and closes the door – not violently, but not gently either. Jake considers following her, but decides against it. She emerges a minute later, a small tote bag in her hand. She looks at him.

“You know my brother George? His wife’s niece is an American citizen, but lives in Tijuana. She commutes to school in San Diego every day. A few weeks ago, she was apprehended at the border and kept in custody for _hours_ . No one knew where she was, or if she was safe. Her parents weren’t notified, nor was her school. It was awful. And she was crossing _legally_.”

She sighs and walks to the front door. Just before opening it, she says, “I’m going over to George’s place for the weekend.” She pauses. “Maybe sleep on the couch tonight.”

 

* * *

 

Jake spends most of Saturday doing research and making calls, trying to find a way to keep Gintars in the country, or at least a way to allow him to reenter later. There isn’t one.

Charles calls later that day, saying that Nikolaj is sick and asks if they could reschedule their Bro’s Night. Jake knows this isn’t true (Genevieve’s recent Facebook post features a video of Nikolaj dunking a basketball, healthy as ever), but he agrees anyway.

Jake makes some more calls. Nothing changes.

He doesn’t sleep all night.

 

* * *

 

Amy returns on Sunday afternoon, partly because she knows her husband, and knows that he’s probably driving himself crazy with guilt, and partly because she told her brother that Jake was on a business trip for the weekend (which doesn’t even make sense) and she doesn’t have an excuse to stay another night.

They spend most of the evening in silence. Amy breaks first, asking Jake if he wants to order pizza for dinner. He looks up from his laptop, exhausted, but nods.

It’s a start.

 

* * *

 

It takes much longer for them to be completely okay again. Amy knows, deep-down, that Jake didn’t mean to hurt her (or her community), but she still feels slighted. Jake doesn’t blame her.

Something has changed between them. It’s not the love, or even the respect, that they hold for each other, but at the same time, it’s perhaps a little bit of both. Luckily, it – whatever it is – comes back eventually, but even then, it’s gradual and tentative.

It takes even longer for everyone else to forget. Holt sends Jake home early on Monday, but not before telling him (on no uncertain terms) that his job would be in jeopardy if he ever used his power like that again. Jake doesn’t see Nikolaj, who he used to babysit at least once a week, for another two months. Rosa keeps finding excuses to not work in the field with him whenever they’re assigned cases together.

Jake’s learned his lesson, and just wants life to return to the way it used to be. But he also learns that it can’t, because decisions that might be spur-of-the-moment for him have the capability of touching the lives of everyone and everything he cares about.

He’s more careful now, but he can’t change the past, and that’s something he now has to learn to live with.  


 

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys follow me on Tumblr, you know that this is something that's been bothering me since this episode came out. If you don't agree with things that I said here, please don't comment/dm me about it. I'm not interested. Instead, please consider why people have been complaining about it. 
> 
> Also, the bit with Amy's brother's niece is based on a recent news story.


End file.
